3 Age-Defying Haircuts That Will Boost Your Confidence and Style
You'll love these custom, youthful looks!
Not only does a fresh cut rejuvenate our look, it also works wonders to raise our confidence and lift our spirits! So, we polled top hairstylists for the three most age-defying haircuts that can be tailored to complement anyone. First, check out our the guide to determine your face shape, then discover the cut that will bring you the most joy.
What’s your face shape?
Your face is ROUND if: The length from your hairline to your chin divided by three is longer than the length from the tip of your nose to your chin. Celebrities with a round face shape include Drew Barrymore, Ginnifer Goodwin and Mila Kunis.
Your face is SQUARE if: The width of your forehead from temple to temple is equal to the width of your jaw from ear to ear. Celebrities with a square face shape include Angelina Jolie, Demi Moore and Jennifer Aniston.
Your face is LONG if: The length from your hairline to your chin divided by three is shorter than the length from the tip of your nose to your chin. Celebrities with a long face shape include Teri Hatcher, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sandra Oh and Lisa Kudrow.
Your face is HEART if: The width of your forehead from temple to temple is longer than the width of your jaw from ear to ear. Celebrities with a heart face shape include Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon, and Scarlett Johansson.
A Haircut That Can Be Customized for All: The Power Pixie
“Mega movement and texture created from varying lengths of layers and bangs give shorter hair tons of volume, ensuring today’s pixie looks modern, not matronly,” says Jackson Simmonds, hairstylist at the Julien Farrel Salon in New York City, who’s worked with Carol Burnett and Jill Zarin.
Plus, a pixie requires little styling time — just work a small amount of mousse or pomade into damp hair and air-dry or blow-dry. Wow!
The Best Pixie Haircut for Round Faces
A pixie with short, neat sides adds face-framing angles that visually square off and counteract the fullness of a round face, explains Simmonds. What’s more, voluminous layers at the crown direct focus up, pulling features like eyes and cheeks with it for a face-lift effect. (Talk about an age-defying haircut!)
Ask your stylist for: A pixie that’s shorter on the sides and longer on top with heavily textured layers through the crown and short “wisps” along the brow.
The Best Pixie for Square Faces
“The rounded silhouette of a side-swept pixie helps soften the harshness of a square jaw,” says Simmonds. And infusing the cut with full fringe cleverly conceals any thinning at the temples and along the hairline. Styling tip: Applying a dollop of mousse — we like John Frieda Volume Lift Air-Whipped Foam (Buy from Walmart, $12.75) — to damp hair before blow-drying will add volumizing oomph at the roots.
Ask your stylist for: A pixie with texture throughout the crown from blended, graduating layers and side-swept bangs that rest at the brows.
The Best Pixie for Heart Faces
The height created from stacked layers on a longer pixie directs focus up and away from a pointy chin, says Simmonds. And angled fringe “cuts into” a wider forehead so it appears narrower. Bonus: To enhance the texture of layers and give strands added depth, Simmonds suggests working a pea-size amount of pomade — we like Kenra Professional Clear Paste (Buy from Ulta, $16.99) — through the ends of hair.
Ask your stylist for: A pixie with graduating side bangs and long, stacked layers that are cut at an angle so they stand out.
The Best Pixie for Long Faces
“Choppy, long layers on an ear-skimming pixie optically widen a longer face to help balance its length,” says Simmonds. Even better? Snipping in side bangs shortens the face even more while instantly masking forehead furrows. And to give the short cut some youthful edge, create springy curls by loosely wrapping various one-inch sections of hair around a one-inch curling iron and tousling with fingers once cool.
Ask your stylist for: An ear-length pixie with wispy side fringe and textured layers that gradually become longer.
A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, First for Women.
